LAX Chief Stepping Down

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L.A.’s airport chief Lydia Kennard announced Tuesday afternoon that she’s stepping down as executive director of Los Angeles World Airports at the end of January to head up a new aviation-related real estate company.

In recent days, reports circulated that Kennard, 52, is seeking appointment as the next Secretary of Business Transportation and Housing in the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace outgoing secretary Sunne Wright McPeak. Kennard has not commented publicly on those reports.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said LAWA would begin a global search for Kennard’s successor. Kennard said she would serve as an advisor to the agency during the search.

“I feel the goals set for LAWA when I returned in the fall of 2005 have been achieved, making this a natural time for a transition of leadership,” Kennard said.

In her second stint as head of the airport agency, Kennard, 52, brought a measure of peace to the ongoing battles over modernizing Los Angeles International Airport.

In November 2005, two months after being brought on by then-newly elected Mayor Villaraigosa, Kennard hammered out a compromise with officials in neighboring cities to limit growth at the region’s largest airport.

With that compromise in hand, Los Angeles World Airports was able to proceed with the first modernization effort at LAX in 20 years, including renovating the Tom Bradley International Terminal and widening the airport’s south runway. The agency recently unveiled plans to widen the north runway.

“Lydia Kennard is a consummate leader,” Villaraigosa said. “With her capable hand and clear-sighted vision, she piloted L.A. World Airports to new heights, keeping operations running safely while bringing us closer to our ultimate destination, creating a truly regional approach to air travel.”

Kennard also served as the airports chief during the administrations of former mayors Richard Riordan and James Hahn, guiding the airport’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She left the agency in 2003 when she clashed with the Hahn administration over his plan to overhaul LAX. She then took a post as president/principal in charge of KDG Development and Construction Consulting, an L.A.-based firm specializing in construction management.

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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